The Eastern Sea was dotted with countless islands. The kind of small island Fang Yuan set foot on existed by the millions, even tens of millions, across the Eastern Sea.
The vast majority of these small islands were uninhabited. However, this particular island had signs of human habitation.
There were three fishing villages on the island, and the strongest cultivator among them was only at the Third Transformation.
Fang Yuan concealed his presence and strolled through one of the fishing villages as casually as if he were taking a leisurely walk under the scorching sun.
The vast majority of the people around him were ordinary mortals. Occasionally, a Gu Master or two—first or second transformation—would appear, drawing reverent gazes from the mortals.
The methods Fang Yuan had mastered by now were incomparably superior to what he possessed during his time in the Southern Border.
He wandered through the village two or three times, and no one around him could detect his presence.
"This should be Li Family Village." After observing for a long time and cross-referencing with his memories of his previous life, Fang Yuan confirmed this location.
This small fishing village was, of course, not yet called Li Family Village.
But in his previous life, over the course of five hundred years, a legendary Gu Immortal of tremendous renown had emerged from here—Li Xiaoyao.
This small fishing village was renamed because of him, becoming known as Li Family Village.
Of course, Li Xiaoyao had not yet been born. According to his previous life, Li Xiaoyao's birth was still more than two hundred years away.
After confirming the location of this small fishing village, Fang Yuan walked out of the village and arrived at the seaside cliffs.
The cliffs were riddled with countless caves, home to hundreds and thousands of nesting seabirds that were fiercely territorial. If any Gu Master or large creature entered the area and threatened the birds, it would trigger a violent assault from the flock.
Because of this, even the villagers rarely ventured here. Occasionally a Gu Master would enter to gather some herbs or steal a few eggs.
The bird flocks here were of mixed species—equivalent to the combined populations of more than ten different beast herds, and they were not all the same kind of bird.
On this small sea island, humans who possessed Gu were not in a dominant position.
"According to the records in 'The Biography of Li Xiaoyao,' during his childhood, Li Xiaoyao was often bullied by older children and had to frequently hide here. It was here that he accidentally discovered a hidden small cave, which he used as his own little secret base."
The cliff face was densely pocked with depressions and caves of all sizes—too many to count.
Naturally, finding Li Xiaoyao's particular cave posed quite a challenge.
"However, since the bird flocks had claimed this territory, Li Xiaoyao couldn't have ventured deep inside. His cave should be somewhere on the outer perimeter."
Fang Yuan was well prepared. After searching for a while, he initially narrowed his targets down to over a hundred candidates.
When the scorching midday sun finally sank slowly toward the western horizon, Fang Yuan finally found his true target.
This cave was not large. Given the current body of the Star Constellation Master that Fang Yuan inhabited, he couldn't even fit inside—let alone his original form, the Eight-Armed Immortal Zombie body.
Fortunately, he had a transformation Immortal Gu.
Fang Yuan shrank his body further and squeezed his way in.
The cave was damp, and in the twilight hours, a faint glow of the setting sun filtered in. After moving through the narrow passage for a short distance, Fang Yuan reached the deepest part of the cave, where the space opened up considerably.
The sea breeze from outside the cliff continuously flowed in through small openings in the cave walls, producing a low, moaning wind.
Fang Yuan couldn't help but recall the accounts in 'The Biography of Li Xiaoyao.' The text described the hardships of Li Xiaoyao's childhood—how he was constantly bullied and would hide in this cave, softly sobbing while listening to the mournful wind.
This situation persisted for a very long time, until one day, destiny suddenly took a turn, and Li Xiaoyao's legend began.
That turning point in destiny was a small hole in the corner of the cave wall.
One day, Li Xiaoyao snuck in to rest against the corner. Suddenly, the small hole collapsed, and Li Xiaoyao tumbled down, plunging deep into the interior of the cliffs before being swept away by the underground currents.
Fang Yuan's purpose in coming here was to replicate Li Xiaoyao's fortuitous encounter from his previous life.
These cliffs were like an anthill—the interior was riddled with all manner of caves and a dense web of passages, as if it had been bored through entirely.
Three hours later, Fang Yuan had identified the correct path.
He broke through the cave opening on this side and squeezed his way in.
He entered the cliff's interior and quickly descended.
Inside, it was pitch dark and damp, home to various small creatures like snakes and frogs. The largest among them was a gecko the size of a cat.
None of these were obstacles for Fang Yuan.
He soon reached the bottom of the cliff, where the rumbling sound of water grew louder and louder.
At the base of the cliff, there was an enormous seawater vortex.
This was a unique underwater current phenomenon of the Eastern Sea.
The seawater within the vortex spun rapidly, saturated with moisture, like the gaping maw of some great monster.
Fang Yuan sent out several Gu insects, leaving them stationed here as markers.
Then he plunged headfirst into the thundering vortex.
The moment he entered the seawater vortex, an invisible, tremendous force enveloped him. Despite Fang Yuan's considerable strength, being clutched by the seawater left him with a sensation of being at the mercy of forces beyond his control.
Fang Yuan didn't struggle. He allowed this underwater current to carry him elsewhere.
This underwater current was like an invisible dragon or python, stretching across the ocean floor. Schools of fish in the deep ocean all kept their distance from the current. Even seaweed and underwater trees did not grow in the current's path.
They simply couldn't—the underwater current's relentless scouring over time made it impossible for anything to take root.
Fang Yuan rode this current, surging forward at tremendous speed. His velocity was astonishing—faster even than some conventional Immortal Path movement techniques!
This was the unique property of underwater currents.
In the Eastern Sea, there existed a precious type of sea chart.
The content of these sea charts did not depict islands or the ocean's surface, but rather the underwater currents of the deep sea.